The Ice Knight's Curse
by IXypheryl
Summary: Based on Maple Story's Party Quest: The Ice Knight's Curse, this is the story about how Jun was cursed by the Ice Knight and how Von tries to get players to help him to break his older brother's curse.


Ulrika, Von, Cutie, Fattie and Jun were playing hide-and-seek. Anna and Aaron, the twins that usually play with them had left Edelstein yesterday after a short visit, and they were sad to have them go. They never said anything about why they left or where they were going, but the twins promised to come back to Edelstein later.

"Today, we'll play hide-and-seek in the town!" said Ulrika to the other four.

"Only the five of us?" said Fattie, looking around. "Where are Anna and Aaron?"

"Do you not remember? They left Edelstein yesterday! Fattie, the only thing you remember is sweets, hehe!" said Cutie, teasingly.

"Yeah, they left again," Von replied. "Who will be 'it' today?"

"Are we really going to play hide-and-seek again?" said Jun as he held his kitten tightly. The kitten purred at him, as if to comfort his fears.

"Let's play rock-paper-scissors! The loser will be 'it'!" Ulrika suggested, ignoring Jun. They stood in the form of a circle. Reluctantly, Jun moved into place. "Ready? Rock-paper-scissors!"

Ulrika, Von, Cutie and Jun had scissors when Fattie had paper. "Oh no!" he exclaimed.

"Count to ten, Fattie!" Ulrika quickly ran to find a hiding spot. Fattie immediately found the nearest wall and closed his eyes while facing the wall. He started counting and Jun was stunned at the fact Ulrika started running all of a sudden and Fattie had already started counting. Von grabbed him by the hand and that snapped Jun off his thoughts.

"Hurry!" said Von before running to find his special hiding spot. Jun looked around panicking as Fattie started counting down and suddenly remembered he could hide at Ace's hot air balloon ship. Quickly he ran as fast as his legs could bring him to Edelstein's Temporary Airport. There he quickly jumped in without Ace noticing. Inside the hot air balloon ship, there were several crates around. Jun hid behind one. His heart was pumping very fast. He hoped that no one could find him.

Jun waited. One minute. Two minute. Five minute. Jun started to wonder if they had given up already. When he popped his head out to see his surroundings, he was shocked to find that he was at another place. Ace was a few steps ahead of him, talking to another client. He heard that Ace would be taking out items from the ship and he panicked. As quiet as possible, he jumped out of the ship without Ace noticing. He looked around. He realized his surroundings were all white. Suddenly he started to feel the chills of the area. Shivering, he walked around. He hugged himself to keep himself warm.

He saw a person in blue, twice his height. Jun thought he looked weird, but he was the only person nearest to him, so he decided to ask him. "H-hey, s-sir?" Jun asked, suppressing his fear.

The blue man turned around. He had blue steel head gear with three sharp tips pointing up and blue flames on top of it. Jun couldn't see his face… all he could see was black and blue eyes and mouth that emitted faint azure light. He was wearing a fur cape with a gold chain keeping the cape around him. The blue man was wearing heavy armor and holding a steel axe. Jun was scared upon seeing his face, but he tried to keep it together. "S-sir, w-where is t-this place?" he muttered, shivering on his words as he was feeling too cold.

At first, the blue man didn't reply him. Jun looked at him, trying to not be afraid by this mysterious blue man. He asked again. This time, the blue man reacted. "Do you want to be brave, young one?" the man asked.

"Huh?" Jun flinched.

The blue man extended his right hand to him. Like magic, a white orb appeared on the man's palm and turned into a blue armor and a similar axe that fits him. "If you want to be brave, young one," the man said. "Wear it."

Jun looked at the piece of armor in front of him. He did want to be brave. As if he was possessed, he casted aside the doubt he had towards the blue man and touched the armor. He wore the armor as he was told. It fitted him perfectly. Though, he didn't know how the man knew that he wanted to be brave, or why he gave him this armor, but he felt like he could believe him.

_You shall bear the curse of the Ice Knight._

When he wore the armor, those words instantly flashed at Jun's mind, and then he collapsed.

When he woke up, he quickly scanned around the area. The blue man was nowhere in sight. Then, he realized he didn't feel cold now. Aside from that, he felt brave. He felt like he could do anything. Holding the axe he had gotten from the man, he ran out to the streets. Some people whispered among each other upon seeing him. A few quickly went into their house and slammed the door shut. But he didn't care. For now, Jun knew he had to get out from here and go back to Edelstein. He didn't care if he had to kill to get out from here.

Then, he heard a familiar voice. "Jun! Jun, where are you?" the voice called his name. It was Von's voice. He ran to the direction of the voice. He saw Von and Ace was calling his name in the town, getting the villagers' attention. Von scanned around the area. For the first time, Jun saw Von's panicked face.

"Von! Ace!" Jun ran towards them, waving. Von and Ace heard him calling and turned around. Von flinched at the sight of Jun.

"What the…" was all Von could say.

"It's me, Von. I'm Jun!" Jun took a step closer to Von.

"J-Jun?" Ace looked at him, shocked. "Why are you like this?"

"A man gave me this. He said I could be brave by just wearing this!"

"What do you mean?" Ace asked.

"I don't know, but I feel great! Von, I'll go and hunt some Jr. Pepe around! Want to join me?" Jun asked as he ran to his left towards the monsters. Ace tried to stop him, but he had already dashed off, leaving them both behind. Von blinked at him. When did Jun become like this? He decided to follow him to Snowy Hill. What he saw there was shocking. Jun was laughing like a maniac, swinging his axe at the Jr. Pepes and Leatties. He was slashing them up mercilessly. Their blood tainted the snowy ground.

"What the heck happened…?" Von unconsciously muttered his thoughts.

"Die! Die Pepes! Die Leatties! Hahahahaha!" Jun cackled as he continued to bash a few Jr. Pepes and Leatties. The monsters ran in fear upon seeing him with his bloody axe. Von snapped out of his thoughts and ran towards him. However, the floor was slippery and he had a hard time to maintain his balance as he tried to reach him. Jun had an advantage with his armor on. Jun ran around, to kill the monsters. A Leatty was trapped in between a log. Jun found it and smirked. The Leatty shivered upon looking at his eyes. When Jun lifted his axe, ready to kill the trapped Leatty, Von reached him in time and trapped both of Jun's arms in between his elbows.

"Jun, what happened to you? You weren't like this before!" Von shouted at him.

"Shut up! I'm the older brother. I do whatever I want! Let me go! I'm going to kill them all!" Jun snapped at him. It was the first time Jun had ever raised his voice at him. Von pulled him away from the Leatty as hard as he could. The Leatty quickly ran to a safe spot, further away from him. Jun struggled to get away from him.

"Jun, stop this!" said Von, and then he threw him on the ground. As Jun rose back on his feet, Von punched him on the face, making him fall onto the ground once more. "What are you doing? This isn't like you," Von scowled at him. Jun looked at him, stunned. He saw the sadness and fear in his brother's eyes. He didn't know what had he done. He started to cry. Von was taken aback at the sudden change in his brother.

"What have I done…" his voice was muffled by his crying.

Von frowned at him, and then pulled him up and brought him back to where they were before. Ace was shocked to see the bloody axe Jun was holding and him sobbing without tears. "What happened?" he asked Von. Von shrugged.

"It seems he had been cursed by the Ice Knight, by wearing that armor," suddenly a voice said. They turned around and saw a man with blue robe with thick, white eyebrows and a long beard standing behind Ace. He was holding a wooden stick as tall as he was and looked like a wise, old magician. Ace quickly moved aside.

Jun realized this and tried to remove the armor from his body but failed. The armor was completely attached to his body. No matter how hard Jun and Von tried to remove the armor, it was no use. "Why can't I remove the armor?" Jun said through his gritted teeth.

"That armor is a curse from the Ice Knight. It bounds to the owner," the magician said.

"You've been saying Ice Knight. Who's that?" Ace asked.

"The man who wore the original cursed armor," the magician sighed as he shook his head. "He was one of the villagers in El Nath. He was a prideful young warrior who wanted to be strong. One day, he found the cursed armor. It was supposed to be sealed. Despite my warnings, he wore it… now he's been possessed by the armor."

"S-so, is it possible to… to break my curse?" Jun asked, sniffing.

"The only option would be defeating him," said the magician. "In your current state, you couldn't deal damage to him, so you would need other people to help you."

"Other… people?" Jun's shoulder slumped. He felt despair cloaked him once more. He couldn't imagine anyone helping him… After all, he was in a state where he himself was afraid of himself. He couldn't feel the cold. He couldn't feel _anything_.

"As an Ice Man, you have no power to stand against the Ice Knight. You have no other choice but to seek help from others," the magician repeated. "It's the only way to break you out of the Ice Knight's curse."

"Can you help, then?" Von asked the old magician. The magician merely shook his head.

"I am too old," he said. "Alone, I could not defeat him, even with my strongest magic."

Jun started sobbing in fear. Von looked at him in guilt. "If I could fight…" Von muttered to himself, his hands clenched into fists. Although Jun was the older one, Von was braver than him. Jun was a timid person who was easily scared. Von always protected him nonetheless. Suddenly, Von felt very responsible of this. As he stared at the Ice Man in front of him, he swore to himself to have Jun recover from his current state.

The magician touched Von's shoulder and Von flinched before turning. "Take this cape, young one," the magician told him as he handed out a ragged cape. Von looked at the cape, frowning. "It is the Cape of Warmness. As you stay with him here, you will need this."

Von stared at the cape for a long time. He was in doubt as the cape doesn't seemed warm to him. Finally, he made up his mind to trust the magician. He took the cape and continued staring at it. He began to wonder if the cape really lived up to its name.

"This is all I could do for you," said the magician. "However, to find the Ice Knight, only he will know where the Ice Knight will be."

"The Ice Curse Forest." Suddenly, Jun said. Von and Ace looked at him in disbelief.

"What?" Von asked, shocked.

"The Ice Knight… he's at the Ice Curse Forest," Jun pointed at the icy path ahead. Von looked at the direction he pointed. There was a sign at the end of the town written: **WATCH OUT FOR ICY PATH AHEAD**.

"H-How do you even know that the direction you're pointing is the right direction?" Von turned back and looked at him, frowning. He wondered if Jun was making false assumption to make the magician seemed right. It wasn't as if Von didn't believe him, but he couldn't help but suspect the old magician in front of him.

"I- I don't know, Von," Jun raised his head, looking at Von in the eye. "I- I just know."

"All Ice Men will go to the Ice Knight's forest to break the curse," the magician replied. "The Ice Knight will try to lure you to his forest and devour your soul."

Jun gulped. Von scowled at the old magician. "How do _you_ know that they will go there?" he asked the magician. "Are you the one manipulating them?"

"I see you do not believe me, young man," the magician looked at him. "I know this because there have been several victims cursed by the Ice Knight himself. They, like your friend, knew the location of the Ice Knight. They have never returned since they set off to his forest."

"He's my brother," said Von.

"I see," the magician said, turning around. "From now onwards, I wish you good luck on searching for help."

"Wait a second," suddenly Ace spoke. The magician turned around. Ace continued, "Who are you?"

"My name is Alcaster," the magician replied, and then left the three of them standing in the middle of the road and walked into another road by passing through an arch that was written "El Nath Market".

Ace stared at the magician's back till he was out of sight. Then, he turned and looked at the young boy and an Ice Man. "So, what are you going to do now, Jun, Von?" Ace asked. "I would want to stay here and help you, but I have deliveries to do."

They were silent for a long moment. Ace waited patiently for their reply.

Finally, Von broke the silence. "We'll stay here and seek for help," he said confidently. "I'll definitely help Jun to break his curse."

Jun looked at his younger brother. He felt like tearing up again upon seeing his brother willing to stay back and take care of him, regardless his current state. He felt guilty for getting himself in such a mess. "I'm sorry," he muttered.

Von pretended to not hear him apologize. "Ace, you can leave now. We're sorry," said Von.

"I'll come back once a while to check on the both of you," Ace promised them and left reluctantly. Leaving two kids at an unfamiliar place wasn't his style, but he couldn't stay back. He had to inform _them_ for help, at the very least. Plus, the Black Wings may keep an eye on him all the time if he didn't come back after a long period. Ace glanced at them over his shoulder for one last time and left with his ship.

Jun stared at his brother when Ace left. His brother felt his stare and understood what he wanted to say. "For now, we'll look around in El Nath Market to find people to help us," Von told him. "The market must've a few that can help us."

Jun nodded. Von walked on the path Alcaster used and Jun followed him. As expected, there were a lot of people in the market. People from different classes were around, wearing tough-looking armors and weapons. Von bravely asked a trio not too far from them. They seemed tough, Jun thought. Von managed to persuade them to help him, but upon seeing Jun's current state, they glanced at each other and quickly rejected the offer. This happened to them several times.

"This is not going anywhere," Von said after the tenth rejection. His face clearly stated that he was angry. "Why are they so afraid of you?"

"I'm sorry," Jun murmured.

"I wasn't blaming you."

"I'm sorry," Jun apologized again.

"Stop apologizing."

"I'm sorry."

"I said… Ah, forget it."

Jun looked at the snow-covered ground, blaming himself to be cursed into an Ice Man. He wished that this day never came.

They both stood at near a sign with a potion picture. Von looked around, still hoping to find some strong-looking people to help them. A blonde hair man with fancy clothes and a raven hat approached them. Von looked at the man. With a cane in his hands, the man asked, "I heard you're asking for help."

"Yes we are. Can you break my brother's curse?" Von pointed at him. He felt hope rising. Someone finally decided to help them!

"What will I get from helping the both of you?" The man looked at him with his purple eyes. Von knew that the man in front of him would help them if he had met with what he wanted. Without a reward, he wouldn't help them. He didn't want to let this chance pass. He searched through his pocket and took out a bundle of mesos notes.

"This is all I have," said Von as he looked at him pleadingly. "Please, do help-"

"And here I thought you have a treasure or two to spare," the man cut him off, sighing. "No thanks, even I could earn that amount of mesos in no time." Then, he walked away. Von clicked his tongue.

"Darn," Von muttered.

They stood there in silence in the crowded market place. Several people were shouting to sell their items. Von was tired of asking anymore people, so he stood there and waited.

Suddenly, Jun spoke. "Let's give up, shall we?" he said, still staring at the ground ahead.

"Huh? What's with you?" His brother frowned at him.

"I can do it," Jun stood up. "I can kill him myself. It's okay. I can do it on my own."

"Are you silly? That old man… what's his name again… anyway, he said you can't take him on by yourself! That's the reason why we're here!"

"I still have to kill him, aren't I?" Jun looked at him. He felt the chills down his spine. Those eyes… they weren't like Jun at all. He quickly assumed that he was possessed by the armor, like the old magician said.

"Jun, snap out of it!" he slapped his brother across the face. Jun was stunned for a moment, and then he started sobbing.

"I'm sorry, Von. I didn't mean to…" Jun trailed off.

"Forget it," Von looked away. He released his breath, glad that his brother was back again.

An hour later, a man with white-blue hair and a pair of odd eyes walked in front of them. The man had a red left eye and a blue right eye. Wearing a white robe, Von quickly assumed that he was a magician, even though holding a strange long rod and an orb at his other hand. He was looking around, as if searching for something. Von decided to ask him as he looked strong. "Hey, can you help us?" Von asked him. He looked at him with his eyes. Von felt chills down his spine at that split second.

"Not here," he murmured, and then left.

"What a strange person," Von stuck his tongue out at his back, and then walked back to where Jun was sitting.

"Do you think we should give up?" said Jun monotonously after a while. "No one seemed to even bother helping a monster like me…"

"Don't be stupid!" Von hit the back of his head and immediately regretted as the headgear was made of steel. He winced as he touched his knuckle with the other hand, and then continued, "We're already here! Do you want to be in that state forever?"

"No, but…"

"Jun, we have to be patient! Help will come!" Von shouted at him. This had brought attention from several other people around. They murmured among each other.

"Excuse me… I'm sorry…. Excuse me…" Von heard a voice amidst the crowded. He turned around, looking at the direction of the voice. It was gradually clearer and he saw a brown hair boy around their age with a staff at his hands. The boy managed to squeeze out of the crowd and apologized to the crowd as he scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. The crowd muttered among themselves for a few, and then left to their destinations. A big, tough-looking dragon was behind the boy. Von stared at the dragon for a long moment, his jaw dropped. Jun was stunned at the sight of the dragon. The dragon had gold horns and dark blue skin.

"So!" the boy turned around and looked at Von. "I heard you guys need help. Is this true?"

The boy's words lit up the hope in both Von and Jun. They both exchanged glances and Von turned around, meeting the boy's eyes and nodded. He couldn't help but smile. The boy's face lit up. He turned and talked to his dragon. "Mir, we're going to help them!"

But Von and Jun's joy was short lived.

Before they could celebrate that someone was willing to help them, they saw a girl running toward them. "Hold your horses!" she called out. She had long blonde hair and elfish features such as the sharp pointy ears and beautiful yet strong look. She was wearing a white overall and had two small crossbows on her left hand that somewhat resembled a gun. Using her free hand, she grabbed the boy's wrist. "You're not helping anyone, Evan!"

"Mercedes?" The boy looked at her, shocked. "But… they needed help…"

A man with white short hair and tanned skin arrived shortly after the girl. The pole arm he was holding rested at his shoulder as he sighed at the scene. The girl shook her head. "Evan, you have brought us enough trouble already! You were helping a bad guy and got some of the seal stones stolen by our enemies! Not only that, you even bring trouble to Afrien!" she said, pulling him away. The boy tried to break free from her grip and pulled himself back.

"I'm sure that these two are the good guys!" said Evan, insisting to help them. "They don't look bad to me, so let me go, Mercedes!"

"They may be trying to deceive you again," Mercedes spoke through her clenched teeth. "We're not letting you helping anyone we don't know."

"But…!" said Evan, pleadingly. Mercedes stared at him angrily. Unable to get Mercedes' approval, he looked at the man with the pole arm. "Aran, please?" he looked at him with puppy eyes.

The man looked at him, and then looked at Mercedes. Mercedes glared at him. "Aran, just this one time?" Evan pleaded.

"Aran, we can't lose anymore seal stones," said Mercedes as she tried pulling him away from Jun and Von. However, as a kid, Evan was strong enough to hold his ground.

The man sighed again. He walked towards Evan. With one hand, he lifted the boy off the ground and put him onto his shoulder. "Let's go," he said. Evan tried to resist but he was too strong.

"No! Put me down! I promised!" Evan repeatedly hit Aran's back but it didn't affect Aran one bit. He struggled as hard as he could. Mercedes grinned and walked beside Aran. "No! Why, Aran! Why?" The boy stared at the stunned two boys that he promised to help them. Knowing he couldn't do anything, he shouted at them, "I'm sorry! I promise to see you later, if they weren't around!"

"We are **totally** going to keep an eye on you, Evan!" the girl scowled at him.

Jun and Von stared as the three of them left their vision. Von slumped on the ground. "This sucks!" he yelled at no one in particular.

"What a day…" Jun said as he blinked, trying to recall what had happened earlier. "And we almost had someone to help us…"

"I know!" Von suddenly stood up. Jun looked at him. Von looked at his older brother and said, "We're making a flyer and paste it on that board!" Von pointed at the news board not too far away from them. "We'll have them come to us!"

"I don't think it'll work though…" Jun muttered.


End file.
